Lot Smith (1830-1892)
}} * First President of the first stake of LDS Church in Arizona: Little Colorado Stake. Biography * Lot was born on his mother's 25th birthday He named a child for her. * He went with The Mormon Battalion at age 16, was its youngest serving member * Active with Brigham Young's horse herd on Antelope Island. * 1856 he hurried to the handcart companies in peril on the Wyoming Plains. * Lot burned the US Army's supplies, ran off their stock stranded Johnston's Army in the 1857 Wyoming winter, the delay lead to peace, not war. Served as Major in the Utah Militia. * Went on mission to England. * Colonized Arizona (1874-1892) with wives Alice Ann and Alice B. * Was shot by a Navajo bullet in back near Tuba City, AZ in 1892. * Body exhumed and sent to Farmington UT - 1902. * Horse: Stonewall Cloud / * 8 wives / Children 52 Early Years Lot joined the Latter-day Saint Church at an early age in New York. There he became a close friend of Orrin Porter Rockwell and was known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs on Utah's Antelope Island. At sixteen, Smith became the youngest member of Company E of The Mormon Battalion and served on the journey through the southwest to San Diego, where the group was mustered out of service. He then came back across the mountains to the Great Salt Lake, where he became a military leader in the Nauvoo Legion in Utah. Deseret Militia He was officer of the Deseret militia; defended settlers at Provo against Indians; major of the Utah militia and in charge at the burning of Johnton's army provision trains on their way to Echo Canyon, Utah. The President and US Senate had chosen to remove then-governor Brigham Young from office based on reports from federal officials assigned to Utah who had abandoned their assignments and returned to the east. Young's replacement as governor of Utah territory Alfred Cumming was escorted by a contingent of 2,500 Federal troops led by Gen. Albert Johnston as part of what was called the Utah Expedition. The army's orders were to support the installment of the new governor, using force as necessary as resistance was expected based on the official's reports. Smith was sent on a special mission by Young, who hoped to delay the arrival of the troops in the hope that a diplomatic breakthrough could be reached before the troops reached Salt Lake City. Smith led a group of Nauvoo Legion rangers east across Wyoming along the stretch where the California, Oregon and Mormon Trails merge. Eventually he found the Union wagon train and destroyed several wagons. Lot Smith and his rangers held off the Federal soldiers in the cold weather. He did so without his troops harming any soldiers on the Federal side. For many Mormons, Lot Smith and his men are considered heroes. Smith's efforts delayed the US forces from reaching Utah in 1857, forcing them to winter at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Settlement in Arizona Lot spent much of his later life serving the Church in Arizona. He was shot by an Indian during an altercation over sheep. Lot's body was buried in a lonely spot and the only marking of the grave was a small plum tree. It lay there for nearly ten years, but through the untiring efforts of some of his comrades, and the assistance of the Church authorities, his remains were exhumed and brought to Farmington, Utah, his old home. Memorial services were held at Farmington on the 8th of April 1902, the casket was draped with the American flag. Marriage & Family Some grandchildren have red hair. The others are envious. Colonized Arizona (1874-1892) with wives Alice Ann and Alice B. He added wives Mary and Diantha. 1st Marriage: Lydia McBride Married Lydia Minerva McBride (1832-1908), 3 Jun 1851, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah 2nd Marriage: Jane Walker Married Jane Walker (1832-1912), 14 Feb 1852, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah 3rd Marriage: Julia Ann Smith Married Julia Ann Smith (1837-1923), 25 Nov 1855, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah She was previously married to Lot's brother Hyrum Smith (1835-1855). 4th Marriage: Laura Burdick Married Laura Louisa Burdick (1838-1895), 3 Jan 1858, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. She was the daughter of Alden Burdick (1803-1845), a veteran of Zion's Camp (1834). 5th Marriage: Alice Ann Richards Married Alice Ann Richards (1849-1940), 30 May 1868, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah 6th Marriage: Alice Baugh Married Alice Mary Baugh (1853-1947), 29 Apr 1872, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah 7th Marriage: Mary Garn Married Mary Marinda Garn (1852-1916), 13 Jun 1878, St. George, Washington, Utah. 8th Marriage: Diantha Mortensen Married Diantha Elizabeth Mortensen (1861-1922), 21 Oct 1880, St. George, Washington, Utah. After Lot's death, she married Julius Peter Christensen, 21 Jun 1895, Tuba City, Coconino, Arizona. References * Life of Lot Smith - Wikipedia * FindAGrave #238981985 Category:Snowflake Arizona Stake member